Life by Choice

My Destination - 15.04.2010

A recurring question people have been asking me - “Where do you plan to stop?”

The simple answer is everywhere and nowhere. I guess that’s not really simple, but it makes the most sense to me. I don’t plan to stop at all, just take breaks. This whole journey ‘thing’ isn’t just a temporary vacation from real life, it IS my real life. Being a wanderer is just part of who I am, and as J.R.R. Tolkien coined “Not all those who wander are lost”. Those very unique individuals who are more tuned into my nature ask me a different, more appropriate question: “What do I have planned for my future?” This is a much more interesting question, especially because it is not one-dimensional. In all honesty however, there are no concrete plans I have laid down, and I view this as a benefit because it allows me to guide my path instead of constraining myself within limits. However, the direction that I’m heading is very clear to me all due to my large, stellar goals.

In my younger years, I dreamed I would become a marine biologist, hoped I would influence the world, wished to attain my PhD and beyond. Nowadays, I don’t dream, hope, or wish very much at all. I realized that there was a time to dwell on my potential and hopes, but it’s now time for me to act upon what I want. It’s not so much dreaming for it anymore, it’s going out to accomplish what I set out to do. This is the most drastic divide that separates the strong to the weak, the men from the boys, the successful and the would-be’s, and so on. The hard part for many people (especially my peers right now) is deciphering all their dreams, preferences, and interests into their true needs outside the survival requirements. Once someone finds this information for themselves, the only true gatekeeper is their own resolve to seek fulfillment of their need(s). With the right amount of time, luck, and passion anyone can achieve their goals.

Here are a few requirements people in general incorrectly perceive as necessary to achieve their individual goals:

• High Intelligence; I hear complaints of this all the time
• Perfect Opportunity; in a world such as ours, you’ll be waiting long
• Money; this is very controversial to some of my critics, but case after case that I have studied, money follows the passion
• Miscellaneous; no surprise people come up with any kind of excuse to use to credit their misfortune, lack of incentive, or general discontentment with their lot in life

Many classmates I’ve had overestimate my intelligence, and though I’m a smart guy, there are multiple students in my classes that I totally consider ‘smarter’ than I am. Intelligence is a very vague word in itself that often comes with such subjective aspects that the value of it is difficult to quantify. At this point, I realize that intelligence is just another facet of a person, much like their physical characteristics (being tall, lanky, big ears, whatever). Does a tall person automatically become a basketball/volleyball athlete with tremendous skill? Of course not, so why would an intelligent person automatically become well-off? It doesn’t work that way, but those idolized individuals who are both successful and so happy with what they do that they don’t consider it ‘work’ all have a healthy dosage of passion and resolve. There is only one perfect time to start investing in yourself and your own dreams, and needless to say it is the present. If you can’t find the time to invest in yourself, is there anyone you can ever rely on to do it for you?

Money is such a bugger to talk about because many automatically label me as naive or stupid when I say it isn’t necessary. Whenever I make that claim, it is not to say that money isn’t an integral part of living and getting things accomplished, but I strongly believe that money is not a central pillar to happiness or personal success. It is a somewhat reliable marker for material success, but the importance of money lies in its purpose, and that purpose is the same as any other tool. Like a vehicle, money enables someone to make more money, accomplish certain things, and fulfill basic needs. When it comes to achieving the higher needs of fulfillment, many times throwing money at the problem just won’t work. Study after study have shown that after a certain income level is reached (which is different depending on your region) more money does not contribute significantly to and may actually have adverse effects such as stress and its derivatives.

When it comes to the other stuff, it usually is just general complaints revolving around the lack of time. My whole spiel about time is that how you spend your time is completely based off the priorities you set on yourself. This can either be positive, negative, or inbetween. When a child enters the picture for a couple or single parent, that’s an event that completely revolutionizes their priorities (generally for the better). People place emphasis on many subjective things that may be wasting more time than it’s worth, and this ties in heavily with their need to continually improve their possessions, social importance, and/or looks beyond reasonable limits. Simplicity would help many folks in reorganizing their priorities, and therefore their time. It also has a myriad of other benefits that the blogosphere of the internet talk about on an hourly basis!

As for me, I live off that passion stuff. Passion is my anti-drug/obstacle/negative things. You can’t really buy, sell, exchange it, but you can find it and inspire others to do so as well. That’s what excites me so much, sharing my passion and helping anyone else discover their own passion, all this while arriving at my destination, the winding road.

Seek passion!